7. Prokaryotes, Protozoa, Algae and Fungi

Beautiful movie showing algae, protozoa and small invertebrates dancing in a lake.

Small world

Much the same thing as the previous one. Protozoa and lots of algae.

Phagocytosis (I)

Amoeba gobbles algae cells.

Phagocytosis (II)

Amoeba gobbles paramecium.

Cilia and flagella

Narrated clip explaining protozoan movement.

Fungi

Fungi in all their beautiness.

Mushroom madness

Extracted from the BBC/NHK documentary Planet Earth.

Blue oyster mushrooms growing

Beautiful time-lapse movie showing the growth of the many mushrooms produced by a single fungus.

Mould on rotting apple

Another time-lapse movie showing the not-so-riveting growth of these inferior fungi.

Fungi: the good, the bad and the edible

Though fungi are essential in the production of bread, beer and cheese, they can also be a threat to human life in the form of infection and deadly disease. Fungi experts discuss the diverse nature of this underappreciated kingdom.

Ira Flatow and guests discuss the future of algae-based energy, including plans for a new algae-fueled power plant in Venice, Italy, and biologist Jerry Brand explains why biotech companies are taking samples from his extensive algae collection.

10. Reproduction in Living Beings

The hidden beauty of pollination

Pollination: it's vital to life on Earth, but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film "Wings of Life".

Beginning more than 3.5 billion years ago, a tiny, primitive molecule encoded instructions, that it passed to its children, who passed it to their children and so on, all the way down through time to all living things today. Watch the story of DNA.

3. The Evolution of Living Matter

On the origin of species: first paragraphs

Listen to the starter paragraphs of the most influential book in the History of Science, Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life".

Evolution primer: who was Charles Darwin?

Discover how Darwin's curiosity, his passion for natural history, his voyage on the Beagle, and his use of the scientific process led to the publication of his groundbreaking book.

Naked evolution

It's 150 years since Darwin's theory of Evolution was presented to the Linnean Society, and so we've Naturally Selected the Science of Evolution! We find out why scientists have revisited a textbook example of natural selection in action, find out why horny sheep are gambling on good weather and how bacteria in the lab can evolve into a new species! We find out why tragedy almost kept Darwin's ideas from ever being seen, by looking at the archives of his own letters. Plus, why crocodiles chat from inside their eggs, a new way to send messages underwater and why Martian soil would be good for growing cabbages! And in kitchen science we find out which surface is best for keeping ice cool.

Before Darwin, Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck devised the first theory of evolution in 1809. However, it was discredited by most in the scientific community once Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection, 50 years later. Ross Honeywill tells us this fascinating story.

Well explained overview of the process of natural selection and how old Darwin's theory itself has had to adapt to survive under the new discoveries of Genetics.

The Theory of Evolution made easy

Learn some evidence that makes evolution an accepted fact among biologists all over the world.

Evolution primer: how do we know evolution happens?

Learn about evolution through the fossil remains of whales' land-dwelling ancestors

Evolution primer: how does evolution really work?

Travel to Ecuador to see how the process of natural selection operates in populations of rainforest hummingbirds.

Evolution primer: why does Evolution matter now?

Learn how tuberculosis is transmitted and why the evolution of multi-drug resistant strains of TB in Russia affects us all.

Gradual evolution

The odds that such a complex organ as the human eye could have showed up all at once, and just randomly, are extremely low, creationists say. But the chances for it to appear gradually, step by step, are really high, as this video explains.

Gradual evolution of a complex organ: the eye

But can something like the human eye, that seems to only have any sense once it was fully developed, really appear by gradual evolution? Richard Dawkins explains how.

Evolution primer: isn't Evolution just a theory?

Learn the difference between the scientific and everyday use of key vocabulary words.

Evolution primer: why is Evolution controversial anyway?

Consider different points of view, as scientists, religious leaders, and college students share their opinions about evolution, science, and religious faith.

Creation science made easy

Learn why creation science is not science, and why the creation theory is not even a theory.

4. Natural History of the Earth

The story of the Earth made easy

Learn how a geological picture can be related to geological events that happened in the past, and how all this can help us to ellucidate the story of our planet.

The age of our world made easy

Learn the basics on the dating techniques used in Paleontology.

Carbon dating

Find out how carbon is used to determine how long ago an organism had died.

Examine the fossil and molecular evidence that supports the evolution of humans from earlier primate ancestors.

Human evolution made easy

Learn how scientists came up with the idea of human evolution from the apes, and which are the fundamental patterns in human evolution.

Human ancestry made easy

This video traces our migration out of Africa and explains, through DNA evidence, how humans colonized the world.

Anthropologist Donald Johanson On "Lucy's Legacy"

In 1974, Donald Johanson discovered the fossil he dubbed "Lucy", a previously unknown species of ancient hominid. Johanson talks about what the discovery meant for the human family tree and discusses his new book Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins.

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Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.